Social media startup Fizz sues Instacart and Partiful for trademark infringement over new Fizz app | TechCrunch

Social media startup Fizz is suing grocery supply large Instacart and social gathering planning app Partiful for trademark infringement, the corporate introduced on Thursday. Earlier this week, Instacart launched a brand new drinks and snack supply app for events referred to as Fizz and introduced that Partiful had built-in Fizz immediately into its platform.

Based in 2020, Fizz is a Gen Z-focused social networking app accessible on greater than 400 faculty campuses.

The swimsuit, filed Wednesday within the U.S. District Court docket for the Northern District of California, seeks a jury trial, injunctive aid, damages, and a courtroom order barring Instacart and Partiful from utilizing the “FIZZ” identify in reference to social or occasion planning companies.

Instacart and Partiful didn’t reply to TechCrunch’s request for remark.

Within the lawsuit, Fizz states that it has been utilizing the “FIZZ” trademark since January 2022 and filed for trademark registration in December 2021. The startup is accusing Instacart and Partiful of frequent legislation trademark infringement, federal trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and violating California’s unfair competitors legal guidelines.

“This new Fizz App by Instacart and Partiful is a blatant attempt to misappropriate the goodwill that Plaintiff has painstakingly developed through its continuous use of the FIZZ Marks among the Gen-Z demographic,” the lawsuit reads. “Together, Instacart and Partiful are competing head-on with Plaintiff in its core market of event planning for the Gen-Z demographic. Instacart and Partiful could have chosen any name for their new venture, but rather than compete on an even playing field, they are using FIZZ.”

Fizz alleges that Instacart and Partiful knowingly launched the brand new app with the equivalent identify for a similar Gen Z demographic, making a chance of confusion amongst clients who could consider that the brand new ordering service is affiliated with or endorsed by Fizz.

The startup additionally alleges that Instacart and Partiful are exploiting its model recognition as a recognized social platform for Gen Z.

“Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereupon alleges that Defendant Instacart had a bad faith intent to profit from the FIZZ Marks when it registered the domain name ,” the lawsuit states. “Specifically, Defendant Instacart knew or should have known of the FIZZ Marks and incorporated Plaintiff’s trademark and trade name in its domain name. In doing so, Defendant Instacart intended to divert consumers from the Fizz Platform’s online location to the Fizz App online location for Defendant’s own commercial gain.”

Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that Partiful competes with Fizz immediately within the occasions planning area, and that the corporate is now utilizing Fizz’s identify to confuse the Gen Z demographic after failing “to win the Gen Z market through fair competition.”

The lawsuit introduced at the moment isn’t Fizz’s first brush with authorized motion, because the startup sued rival Sidechat in 2023 over unfair competitors practices.